Leamington Library
2018/2019
Passa Architects were commissioned by the Municipality of Leamington to renovate and expand their existing library in the heart of their urban core on Erie Street. The existing library was originally built over 50 years ago with an addition in the 1970’s of solid masonry with minimal openings providing daylight. Since modern libraries are more community centered the new revisions were intended to be colourful and bright with an abundance of natural light. The design therefore created a curvilinear blue glass wall with a sand coloured stone base facing Erie Street imitating water and sand on the shores of Lake Erie where the municipality is located. The addition was also lifted higher than the existing building to allow late afternoon and even light to penetrate through added windows above the existing roof to maintain daylight harvesting throughout the day. This enabled the library to provide a larger and more engaging connection to the municipality. A new entry canopy was added facing the small park in the front of the building with wood boarding similar to the decking and finishes inside ships. Glazing in this area is protected with sunshades facing south while also having a higher mirror finish to reflect the green trees upon approaching the building. Internally there are colourful Study Pods, a fireplace sitting area, seating built into the windows and various new community rooms for Programming, Crafts / Maker Labs, Audio Recordings, and Video Recordings with a green wall. The new connection with the municipality is further reinforced with a 4-foot-high LIBRARY sign with digital programing to change colours and provide interesting displays of animation on the main street to assist in bringing attention to the facility while being an iconic addition to Municipality of Leamington.